Unexpected Love
by Silver6
Summary: An unlikely romance involving two minor gym leaders. Please R&R!


A/N: Okay, I wrote another romance fanfic…This one is about an unusual pairing Jenny Jenny 1 1 2001-10-30T20:17:00Z 2001-10-30T20:18:00Z 3 1003 5720 47 11 7024 9.2720 

A/N: Okay, I wrote another romance fanfic…This one is about an unusual pairing. Oh yeah, and I don't own the pokemon characters, so please don't sue me.

Unexpected Love

As I lay there, watching Lance get dressed, I felt a mixture of pain and sadness. He was leaving me, leaving to go back to his family. His girlfriend and his baby daughter. They held a part of him that I could never have. Half of me wanted to cling to him, beg him not to leave. The other half of me just wanted him to go so I could feel bad in private. 

Lance fastened his cape and looked over at me. "I'll see myself out," he said shortly. "I'll see you at the Dragon's Den, same time next week"

"Lance…" I wanted to ask him why, why he treated me so badly when I'd been his friend for years. But he never gave me a chance.

"See you Clair," he said firmly. "I have to go. We're expected over at Saffron gym for dinner" I didn't have to ask whom he meant by 'we'. When I looked up again, he had already gone. As I slowly got out of bed and began to dress, I allowed myself to cry. The last four times we had met up, our training sessions had become something more. And I knew that this was the last time. 

"I can't do it Clair," he had told me, as we lay there together. "I can't hurt her anymore. If she found out, she would take my daughter away from me. I don't want that. I'm sorry, but this can't happen again. Ever"

He had a point. His girlfriend was a sweet kid, who clearly thought the world of him. And I knew how much he loved his daughter. To be separated from her would destroy him. So I kept a brave face, told him that I agreed, that he was right. So why didn't I feel that way inside?

When I was dressed, I decided to go for a walk to try and clear my head. Taking a shortcut or two, I soon found myself at the Lake of Rage. As I headed to my hidden spot, I saw that someone was already there. As I approached, he turned to look at me. "Hey Clair" he said. "Long time, no see"

"Falkner!" I couldn't keep the surprise out of my voice. "What are you doing here?"

"Just hanging around" he said with a shrug. "I'm taking a break from my training. Came up here because I heard that the pokemon were strong around here"

"Yeah, that's right" Slowly I sat down beside him and picked up a stick. As I drew patterns on the ground, I could feel him watching me. "So" I said finally. "How are things?"

"Not too bad, I guess" he said, giving me a small smile. "Lost to three trainers last week and got called a loser by young Bugsy. He's worse than me, so he doesn't know what he's talking about. Anyway, how are things with you?"

"Fine thanks" I said slowly, turning away so he wouldn't see my tears. "I've been training in Dragon's Den quite a bit recently. My Kingdra is looking pretty awesome"

"Yeah, I bet" Falkner fell silent. "So have you seen Lance recently?"

"I…Yeah, I have" I told him, my voice trembling slightly. Falkner noticed. "Hey" he said, twisting round and looking at my face. "You're crying"

"Sorry. It's just…"

"No" Falkner held up his hand to stop me. "I should be sorry. I know that you're a bit upset about the Lance situation. I shouldn't have asked"

"It's alright," I said, wiping my eyes. "It's not that. Not really"

"Do you want to talk about it?" Falkner asked. "I'll listen and I won't judge you. It might make you feel better"

"You won't tell anyone?"

"I give you my word" Falkner swore solemnly. "Nothing goes any further than here. I promise"

"I've been…I've been sleeping with him" I blurted out, and then broke down. Falkner put his arms around me and let me sob on his shoulder. "I see," he said after a minute. "You've got yourself into a bad situation here"

"I know. I didn't mean for it to happen, and when it did I just couldn't stop it. But it didn't work out anyway. He says it can't happen any more. Why does he treat me like this Falkner?"

"I don't know" Slowly Falkner brought up one hand and began to stroke my hair. "I find Lance pretty hard to figure out. He shouldn't have let it go that far in the first place, but on the other hand at least he didn't lead you on. At least he was honest. He could have made you all sorts of promises and then let you down. I mean how many times did it happen?"

"Four"

"Four times. Some guys would have kept it going months, not caring that they hurt in the process. But Lance, well I may not be the guy's biggest fan, but I have to admit that he's not stupid and he really cares about you Clair. He knows that carrying on with your relationship is just going to hurt everyone involved and he doesn't want that. I mean, how would you feel if you learnt that your boyfriend had been sleeping with someone else behind your back? As hard as it is, you have to accept his decision and let him go. While you're clinging on to him, you're missing out on all those other nice guys out there. One day you'll find a guy who is free to return your feelings, but its not going to happen if you can't let go of a dream, which is never going to come true"

"You talk a lot of sense?" I admitted. "You're right, I just guess I didn't want to admit it to myself…Falkner?"

"Yes Clair?"

"Do you think I really will find a guy who will be interested in me?"

"Lots of guys like you. I mean you're pretty, you're fun to be around, you're a nice person…" he broke off and blushed. "You're the top gym leader in Johto, you can train Dragon pokemon. Yeah, I think you'll find a guy one day. And that guy will be very lucky"

"Yeah, he will be" I said with a small laugh. "Thanks Falkner"

"Hey, no problem" he said with a smile. "I'm just glad I could make you feel better. No more crying over that jerk, Lance, okay?"

"Okay" I agreed, returning his smile. As I did, I realised what a nice smile he had and my stomach started fluttering. "But" I said, almost shyly. "You have to do something for me"

"Anything Clair" he agreed, his arms still holding me as I looked up and gently kissed him on the mouth. 

"You have to take me out to dinner" I said, giggling at his shocked expression. Then before I could move away, he grabbed me and kissed me back, this time harder. And I kissed him back, all thoughts of Lance flying from my mind. 

As we drew apart, Falkner looked down at me and smiled softly. "So Clair" he said, gently running a finger down my cheek. "What time shall I pick you up?"

"Tonight at 9:30" I gave him my best smile. "Don't be late. I'll be waiting"

"See you then" Falkner stood up and pulled me to him for one last kiss. One kiss became many kisses, until finally he gave a sigh and pulled away. "I had better go," he said. "I'll be back as soon as I'm ready for our date"

I watched him as he sent out his Fearow and flew off, blowing me one last kiss. And as I brushed one finger over my lips, I smiled to myself. I no longer needed Lance and I didn't need to cry any more. Because Falkner was there and I knew that he wouldn't let me down, because he was free to return my feelings…


End file.
